WhatsApp to Delhi HC Will stop functioning if made to break encryption

Whatsapp: Instant messaging platform WhatsApp has said a big thing in the Delhi High Court. According to a news agency report, WhatsApp has told the High Court that if it is forced to remove encryption, it will stop its operations i.e. it will leave India. The whole matter is related to the new IT rules. WhatsApp and Facebook have filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against these rules. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, says that removing encryption may put users’ privacy at risk.

According to the report, the case was being heard by a bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora. WhatsApp argued in the court that the new IT rule 2021 weakens the privacy of users and is also against the fundamental rights of the people.

WhatsApp also argued that there has never been a rule in the world that forces the removal of encryption. WhatsApp said that the new rule was introduced without its consultation.

In fact, under the new IT rules, social media platforms and messaging platforms can be asked to trace users’ chats and identify the first sender of a message. If WhatsApp has to do this, then it will have to trace and save all the messages of all the people, which is against the company’s policy.

WhatsApp’s messaging system works on end-to-end encryption. Under this, a message remains limited between its sender and receiver. WhatsApp itself does not snoop on the messages, that is, WhatsApp has no eye on what message someone is writing to whom and all messages are secured with end-to-end encryption. No one else can read them.

However, the central government has already argued in the court that WhatsApp and Facebook cannot legally claim to protect the privacy of users because they monetize people’s information for their business and commercial benefits.